In 1994, I had an idea. Workers in other regions were using macrofossils (needles, leaves, cones, twigs, wood, bark, roots, seeds, fruits, etc.) preserved in bog peat and/or lake sediments to reconstruct the vegetational history of their regions… Could I possibly do that in the Catskills?

Since 1995, I have studied 111 bogs. Previously, the oldest peat samples were from the bottoms of two Catskill bogs tied for first place at about 14150 years. That record held until 2016.

Mountain Top Arboretum is featured in three new I LOVE NY videos! That’s our Spiral Labyrinth in the opening shot of one and the West Meadow Entrance in the other. The Woodland Walk gets screen time too. Looks great in winter, now here comes SPRING!

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is a serious threat to our mountain top’s most iconic tree. Infestation has been found in trees in many areas, but it’s not too late to take action to save this crucial natural resource.

Healthy White Ash Trees at Mountain Top Arboretum

On June 14, 2016 our final group of white ash, Fraxinus americana, in the Woodland Walk was treated for emerald ash borer (EAB).

A team led by Cornell University Forest Entomologist Mark Whitmore, Vern Rist (Healthy Trees) and Phil Lewis (USDA, APHIS, Arborjet) injected fifty more ash trees with insecticide. The insecticide travels through the phloem just beneath the outer layer of bark, killing EAB as it feeds. Ash is a wind pollinated tree and lacks nectaries so this injected treatment will not harm pollinators nor other insects besides EAB.

But in every walk withNature one receivesfar more than he seeks.~John Muir

In Japan it's called Shinrin-yoku, or Forest Bathing. Japanese studies show that quietly walking in a forest for as little as half an hour dramatically increases signs of relaxation, including lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate and lower blood pressure.

This season, take a walk in through the Arboretum. Stroll through the Woodland Walk, the East Meadow or Black Spruce Glen. Slowly walk, listen, bend down to touch the mosses, and breathe deeply.

When most people think about bees, they immediately imagine the pain of being stung.

What they don’t think about is the critical role that bees play in nature, and the wonderful substances they create. Honeybees are excellent pollinators and increase the production of whatever plants they can find near their hive. Additionally, honeybees are used in agriculture to pollinate 40% of all the food we eat.

Plant the right plant in the right place for the climate, sun/shade, soil, wind and rainfall requirements.

Plant or seed native ground covers in place of traditional mulch.

Prune properly for the health and safety of trees and shrubs.

Consider using native plants appropriate to your area in order to minimize care requirements, encourage pollinators and other wildlife adapted to the native plant species, and to evoke the natural beauty of the land you steward.

Christine Story, the Director at the time, realized that no sooner had she planted something than the deer devoured it. It was as if the deer were following her and unplanting everything she planted, so a seven-foot tall mesh “invisible fence” was erected. Since then, every spring has offered an increasingly generous show of wildflowers.

One of the most beloved native wildflowers, Trillium, is found blooming in the Woodland Walk in May